US drone kills 4 in northwest Pakistan

A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles into a house in Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Thursday, killing four people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said, as press reports showed that Washington is planning further drone attacks on targets in Pakistan.

It was the second strike in many days. A missile believed to have been launched by a U.S. drone killed at least seven militants, including foreigners, in South Waziristan on Wednesday, they said.

"Two missiles fired from a suspected U.S. drone hit the compound of a local pro-militant tribal elder Malik Gulab Khan, killing four residents," a local security official told AFP. Confirming the strike, another official said the nationality of those killed in the strike was not immediately known.

The attacks are deeply unpopular in Pakistan and Afghanistan due to allegations that they frequently also kill innocent civilians.

Washington is planning new drone attacks on militant targets in Pakistan as part of its overall review of military strategy there and in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Fresh list of targets

Intelligence officials from the United States and Pakistan are composing a "fresh list of terrorist targets for Predator drone strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border," the newspaper said citing officials involved.

However, cooperation between the two allies is complicated by the belief held by U.S. officials that operatives within Pakistan's top intelligence agency are "directly supporting the Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan, even as the U.S. targets those groups," the report said.

In particular, Washington is reviewing its drone program, which the administration views as "a success" and is not expected to be cut, and is seeking to clarify under what conditions drone attacks should be used.

Adjustments could be made to "change the pace and size of the program, and make some technical refinements in an effort to hit targets faster," the report said.

Details of the administration's broader reassessment of military strategy in the region could be released as early as Friday.

The Journal said the United States believed Pakistan's top intelligence agency is directly supporting the Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan.

Two missiles fired from a suspected U.S. drone hit the compound of a local pro-militant tribal elder Malik Gulab Khan, killing four residents

A Pakistani official

Supporting Taliban

The report followed another in the New York Times on Wednesday that said operatives in Pakistan's military intelligence agency gave support to the Taliban's military campaign in southern Afghanistan.

U.S. officials told the Times that proof of the ties came from electronic surveillance and trusted informants.

Violence in Afghanistan is at its highest level since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, and the United Nations warned earlier this month it was likely to worsen this year.

President Barack Obama has ordered 17,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan. They will join 38,000 American troops and 30,000 more from NATO allies and other nations. A U.S. official said on Tuesday that Obama was expected on Friday to announce the results of his administration's review of Afghanistan policy.

Pakistani leaders deny any government ties to militant groups and the Times quoted U.S. officials as saying it was unlikely top government officials were coordinating the efforts. The middle-ranking intelligence operatives sometimes cultivate relationships without the approval of senior officials, the paper said.